No cricket matches will be organized in Pakistan in year 2020

Islamabad:Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ehsan Mani has said that Pakistan would not hold any international cricket event in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, local media reported on Thursday.

The chairman told media that they are not ready to take any risk in this regard, hoping that the situation would become conducive next year for the international events under the International Cricket Council (ICC).

He gave the statement after having a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier this week, who reportedly prohibited the PCB from taking such a step because the country has been facing a continuous rise in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

According to the chairman, the PCB considered that the main danger of holding an event this year is that if any player gets affected by the virus, it would create a lot of difficulties for them and it is also very tough to convince any international team to visit Pakistan.

"Although New Zealand has almost controlled COVID-19, its cricket board is very careful. So seeing all this, one can easily say that there is hardly any chance of any ICC event to be conducted this year. Only next year, we can expect any mega-event," the chairman was quoted as having said.

The PCB chief said that if the situation does not improve until the year-end, the board would have to take some other very crucial decisions about future events to be played in the country, including Pakistan Super League and domestic matches.

According to Pakistan's health ministry, the country's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has reached 160,118 with 3,093 deaths amid a sharp trajectory of increase in day-to-day cases.XINHUA AVK 1852